"Well, tonight felt like years," Chet amended."Time moves differently when you're talented."
"The lights respond to us specifically," Beau added, warming to the tale."Something about our...spiritual frequencies."
"Exactly!"Finn snapped his fingers."We just think really hard about where we want to go, and whoosh!Circle appears!"
"Perhaps you’d share your talents with us all?”Cornelius suggested smoothly."I'd be absolutely fascinated to witness such...specialized talents firsthand."
"Oh, we could probably manage that," Finn said magnanimously.“Tomorrow night, of course.”
"Most generous," Cornelius murmured, then his expression brightened with sudden inspiration.“Buy why wait?Surely such talented individuals could provide a brief demonstration right now.Just a quick glimpse of these remarkable abilities?"
The trio exchanged panicked glances.In their inebriation, they'd painted themselves into a corner with their boasting.
"Well, you see..."Finn stammered, "it's not quite that simple..."
"There are rules," Chet added quickly, grasping for an explanation.
"Cosmic rules!"Beau chimed in, warming to the rescue."Very strict about these things, the universe is."
"What kind of rules?"Cornelius pressed, his smile becoming slightly twisted.
"You can only do it once per...per day," Finn said, the words tumbling out."Otherwise, it wouldn't be special, would it?"
"Exactly!"Chet nodded vigorously."If you could just pop back and forth all the time, where's the magic in that?"
"The mystery would be ruined," Beau declared with drunken wisdom."Like...like opening all your presents before Christmas.Takes all the wonder out of it."
"One manifestation per twenty-four-hour period," Finn said, sounding more confident as the lie solidified."Universal law.Can't mess with that sort of thing."
Cornelius studied them for a moment, his calculating mind clearly trying to separate truth from fabrication."How...inconvenient.But I suppose such powerful abilities must have their limitations."
"Heavy is the head that wears the crown," Beau said solemnly, then hiccupped.
Cornelius smiled with satisfaction."Indeed.Well, gentlemen, tomorrow evening should prove most...educational.I shall eagerly await your demonstration."
As the celebrity author drifted away, along with every other ghost, the three friends sat in silence for a moment, the weight of their promises beginning to penetrate their drunken state.
"Lads," Finn said slowly, "did we just tell a complete stranger we could summon magical transportation circles on command?"
"Think so," Chet replied.
"And we can't actually do that, can we?"Beau questioned.
"Probably not."Finn admitted.“But you never know.Guess we’ll have to try.”
They looked at each other with a shrug of satisfaction, and sauntered toward their tent.
Chapter 10
Cleanup on Aisle Everywhere
The first hint that something was amiss came with Sally Swanton's shriek of outrage, which echoed across Cauldron Falls.
Sally's voice had always been one of the town's most reliable alarm clocks, capable of penetrating the deepest sleep when she discovered something that violated her sense of order.This shriek carried a note of personal violation that suggested someone had crossed a line she considered sacred.
"MY TOILET PAPER!"her voice carried from the direction ofThe Curious Moonoffice."Someone's stolen my entire emergency supply!"
The emergency stash had been Sally's pride and practicality combined—carefully hoarded for natural disasters, magical mishaps, and other community crises.Its disappearance represented not just theft, but a violation of her civic preparedness that cut deep into her sense of responsibility as the town's primary news source.
